The present invention relates to a method of producing stretchable wadding using crimp potential fibers.
It is generally known that wadding can be produced using a carding machine to form a web from fibers having a large number of crimps, subjecting the web to treatment such as needling, and subsequently bonding the component fibers of the web to each other. One difficulty with such a method is that the fibers are bonded with each other in their crimped areas, reducing the freedom of the fibers, and making it impossible to obtain wadding with good stretchability. Another difficulty is that if fibers having a larger number of crimps are used, carding efficiency is adversely affected due to increased interlocking of fibers, and the resulting webs are substantially irregular. Wadding produced by this conventional method is therefore unsuitable for use in sportswear and other garments which require adaptability to severe body movement, though it may be used in an application such as quilting which does not require as much stretchability.
To overcome this problem, it has been proposed to introduce an elastic yarn formed of a polyurethane elastomer or the like into the web to impart stretchability. This method has the disadvantage that it requires an apparatus and a process step for the introduction of such an elastic yarn. Moreover, the wadding produced does not have sufficient stretchability in portions in which no elastic yarn is present, and is therefore subject to creasing or partial shrinking.
The present invention, made with a view to overcoming such difficulties, has as its object the provision of a method of producing wadding with good and uniform stretchability.